Maybe There's Something Wrong with the Universe
by konarciq
Summary: A thorough rewrite of the ep "Remember Me". For just trapping his Mum kept things fairly simple. So let's complicate matters by having Wesley's warp bubble extend *beyond* Engineering, enveloping the all intertwining thought-realities of the entire crew! Ensemble piece. Complete, but taken down for future aspirations. PM me if you'd like to read the complete story!


_Author's Note: Th__e very second time I watched and loved the fourth season episode _"Remember Me" _(written by Lee Sheldon)__, I felt the situation created by Wesley's warp bubble had so much more story-potential than just trapping Dr. Crusher in another dimension _–_ a dimension shaped after the thought she had at the very moment she got trapped in the bubble. So I decided to develop my own version of that story. And this is the result, in which not only Dr. Crusher, but every member of the Enterprise crew starts wondering:_

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If there's nothing wrong with _me_, then...

**Maybe There's Something Wrong with the Universe?**

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"That shouldn't have happened," Wesley breathed. He cast a quick glance around Engineering, and focused back on the small screen where the progress of his experiment was showing.

His static warp bubble was back to its fluctuating normal. No sign of the sudden expansion lashing out in a colourful wave of energy that momentarily had flashed all around him. In fact, the bubble was clearly shrinking now that he had stopped feeding it with Kosinski's warp field equations.

He sighed, and pressed the few necessary buttons to end his experiment. After all, you couldn't win them all, and Geordi had already been bugging him several times to quit it. They'd be leaving for Durania IV any moment now, and he was due on the bridge.

Maybe at their next longer stop he could have a go at it again. He was absolutely positive that it should work. At least in theory. He'd just have to go over the equations a few more times. For that flash, that expansion shouldn't have happened.

He took his padd. "Geordi?"

No answer.

Wesley shrugged. The Chief Engineer was probably busy elsewhere. Oh well. At least he had his engines back.

He turned and walked off towards the bridge, his mind still examining the equations he had been using, to try and find out what had gone wrong. He dropped by the Crusher quarters to drop off his padd, and then headed up to the bridge to begin his shift. But as he stepped out of the turbolift...

Wesley looked around with a frown. Where was everyone? That was odd; weren't they supposed to leave the starbase soon? And besides, there were always people on the bridge. Perhaps they were in the conference room then.

He strode over, and the doors opened obediently for him. But the conference room was as deserted as the bridge.

Without knowing why, Wesley suddenly felt the short hairs in his neck standing up. There was something eerie about this: the empty conference room, the empty bridge... And come to think of it, he hadn't met _anyone_ on his way to the bridge. On a ship with over a thousand people on board, the odds for that were practically zero, no matter how big the ship.

So: where was everyone?

He touched his communicator. "Crusher to Commander Riker."

No response.

"Computer, what is the location of Commander Riker?"

The usual chirp; then: _"There is no Commander Riker aboard the Enterprise."_

Wesley scowled. "What the heck...!" Had the Commander perhaps last minute business on the starbase? But that shouldn't stop him from answering his communicator, should it? Unless – a sudden grin spread over the young man's face – unless of course that 'business' was of feminine nature. Better try someone else then. "Crusher to Mr. Data."

Still no response.

"Mr. Data, where are you? Please acknowledge!"

Silence.

"Computer, where is Mr. Data?"

"_There is no Mr. Data aboard the Enterprise."_

He raised his eyebrows. "What about Captain Picard?"

"_There is no Captain Picard aboard the Enterprise."_

This was getting alarming. Why would all three senior officers be off the ship just prior to their departure?

"Computer, the location of Geordi La Forge." After all, he'd just left him down in Engineering mere minutes ago.

But: _"There is no Geordi La Forge aboard the Enterprise."_

"And Dr. Crusher?" He wandered over to the main viewscreen, looking out over the busy interior of Starbase 133. It all looked so normal, but...

"_There is no Dr. Crusher aboard the Enterprise."_

He felt a touch of panic, but fought it down. Clearly, this approach was futile. "All stations please report."

Nothing.

"Computer, is there anyone else aboard the Enterprise besides Ensign Crusher?"

The familiar chirp; then: _"Negative."_

He felt his knees buckle under him, and weakly he let himself down into the chair at the conn. _His_ chair. Solid and comfortable, as it should be. But _something_ was terribly wrong here.

Where was everyone?

Where was _he_?

"Computer." He noticed how shaky his voice was. "Where am I?"

"_Ensign Crusher is on the bridge."_

"On what bridge?"

"_Ensign Crusher is on the bridge of the Enterprise."_

"Which Enterprise?"

"_The U.S.S. Enterprise, the fifth ship bearing this name. Callsign NCC 1701-D."_

"And where is this Enterprise?"

"_The Enterprise is docked at Starbase 133."_

So the viewscreen didn't betray him. "Computer... where is everyone?"

Chirp. _"That is not a valid question."_

Hm. That helped – not.

He looked down at his station. His console, too, told him that they were indeed at Starbase 133.

Suddenly there was a chirp behind him. Incoming message! He darted up the ramp and pressed the button to receive the message on screen. "Captain, where...! Oh!"

On the screen appeared a lady in Starfleet uniform. "Enterprise, the boarding ramp is retrieved and the exit is open and free. Wishing you a safe journey."

"Wait!" Wesley cried, half expecting the Enterprise to manoeuver out into space all by itself, as a modern day "_Flying Dutchman_".

At least it got the lady's attention. "Yes, Ensign?" But then she, too, noticed all the empty chairs on their bridge. "Ensign, where are the other officers?"

"I don't know! That's what I was going to ask _you_!"

"Are they not on board?"

"No! At least the computer says they're not. And I can't contact them either. They must be somewhere on the starbase – I think," he suddenly added more uncertain. "Look, I don't know what's happening here, but according to the computer I'm the only one on board. You better close the starbase exit before this baby flies away all by itself!"

She gave him a rather befuddled look at that, but told him to stand by, and her image was replaced by the teeming activity of the starbase.

Wesley looked around. Could it perhaps be a bad dream? Had he actually fallen asleep on his feet while working on the equations?

Well, one sure way to find out: he pinched the skin of his hand between two fingernails, and twisted it, just to make sure. It hurt alright. So it was definitely not a dream.

Then what the hell was going on here? What hap...?

He blanched. His warp bubble... could that be the key? Had he seen _anybody_ after that unexpected energy flash?

He quickly went over the situation in his mind. Mum had been there, hovering a few meters away from him. She clearly had wanted to talk to him, but she had told him not to let her interrupt what he was doing. And when he looked up again, realizing that his experiment had failed, she was gone.

Geordi had been there, too, walking back and forth and insisting he'd finish his experiment _now_, because they were to leave any minute, bla bla bla. Had he really been just 'elsewhere' when he had closed it down? And all those other people in Engineering – he had been focusing too much to really register them, but he had been aware that there were other people around. All gone by the time he terminated the experiment.

And from that moment on, he hadn't met a single soul on this ship!

Trembling, he leaned onto one of the computer stations behind him. Theoretically it was possible, yes: could it be that he was trapped inside his static warp bubble? The flash, everyone's disappearance...

A chill ran down his back, and he shivered. It was just theory of course, but according to that theory, being trapped in a static warp bubble pretty much equaled getting stuck in another dimension. And here he was, all alone on another Enterprise, while back in his own dimension – real life – Mum had probably taken to hysterics when he had just disappeared into thin air, right in front of her eyes. Surely they were all wondering what the hell happened. And they probably didn't have a clue!

Which meant it was up to _him_ to get out of here.

He straightened his uniform and took a good breath. "Think!" he told himself. "If there's a way in, there must be a way out as well. And it's all got to do with...!"

"Enterprise."

The voice and reappearance of the lady from Starbase flight control startled him out of his thoughts. "Enterprise here. Go ahead."

"We have done a complete sensor sweep of the starbase, but neither Captain Picard nor any of the Enterprise crew are here."

Wesley nodded. "Just as I thought."

She raised an eyebrow. "What was that, Ensign?"

He took a deep breath. "I think I know what happened."

"And what is that?"

"I think I may be trapped in a static warp bubble. And if that is so, then I am the one missing instead of them."

She regarded him skeptically. "Are you sure you're feeling alright, Ensign?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just stuck in the wrong dimension, that's all. But I think I might be able to fix it. Can you please locate a guy named Kosinski for me? He's a Starfleet officer, a propulsion specialist or something like that. And I need the frequency to send a message to the planet Tau Alpha C as well."

The lady shook her head. "I think I'd better send over a counselor first."

"But it's urgent!" Wesley started to say.

But the viewer had already been turned off.

"Thanks for the help, ma'am," he muttered. Though he had to admit, from her point of view the story would surely sound outrageous. And that put it mildly. No wonder she was going to send in a shrink.

Well, never mind. He could do it himself. "Computer, the current location of Kosinski, a Starfleet officer and a specialist on propulsion."

Chirp. _"There is no Kosinski, Starfleet propulsion specialist aboard the Enterprise."_

"I mean: where is he stationed?"

"_Propulsion specialist Kosinski is presently stationed at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yard, Mars."_

"Put through a call, both to his living quarters and to his workplace. Make it priority one."

As he waited, he realized that even the Kosinski he was going to talk to would be from this other dimension. Not that it mattered; as long as the guy knew his stuff, who cared what dimension he was from? Though the fact that the computer acknowledged his existence so many lightyears away was amazing enough in itself. How gigantic was this static warp bubble that had him trapped? Could it really contain the entire universe?

And there was Kosinski. He looked a bit irritated, much as Wesley remembered him. "Yes? Who is this?"

"Mr. Kosinski, this is Ensign Crusher from the U.S.S. Enterprise. I need your help."

From the corner of his eye he saw two men stepping out of the turbolift: one in blue, one in yellow. Shrink and security guard no doubt. Good. It wouldn't hurt for them to overhear this conversation.

"Mr. Kosinski, I was experimenting with your warp field equations this morning, when something strange happened. There was a momentary flash of light around me, all over the spectrum. At the same time my static warp bubble expanded and as quickly contracted again. And pretty much from that moment on, I seem to be all alone on the Enterprise. I think I may be trapped in the bubble. Can you tell me how to get out?"

Kosinski stared back at him, his face unreadable. "Mr. Crusher, you claim that you're all alone on the Enterprise."

"Yes, sir. From the moment I..."

"Then who are those two people to your left?"

Wesley glanced over his shoulder, and the counselor spoke: "We are not Enterprise personnel, sir. We just entered the ship from Starbase 133, to check on the Ensign's health. His story seemed rather... fanciful. But from what we've seen on our way to the bridge, he seems to be correct in his claim that the Enterprise is deserted."

Kosinski turned his attention back to Wesley. "Mr. Crusher, where are you? Are you on Starbase 133?"

"Yes, sir. The Enterprise has been docked here overnight."

Kosinski shook his head in agitation. "Mr. Crusher, I'm on Mars; you're lightyears away on Starbase 133. No warp bubble could take on such dimensions as to envelop half the universe. If you'd indeed be trapped in a static warp bubble, then you wouldn't be able to contact me here. So there must be some other explanation for the disappea..." Suddenly he fell silent, and Wesley prompted: "What, sir?"

The man's eyes refocused on him, squinting a little. "Mr. Crusher, _where were you_ when you were creating this bubble?"

"Down in Engineering, sir."

"That's about the center of the ship, isn't it?"

Wesley nodded. "More or less, yes."

Utterly incredulous, Kosinski shook his head. "And you stood close to the terminal you were working on? Hunching over it perhaps?"

Another nod.

"And this wave of energy you saw, how far did it travel?"

Wesley furrowed his brow in thought. "As far as I recall, I believe it disappeared into the walls of Engineering."

"Mr. Crusher." Kosinski cleared his throat. "The mere fact that we are talking via subspace over such distance excludes every possibility of _you_ being trapped inside a static warp bubble. But judging by what you told me, I'm afraid _they_ might be."

Wesley frowned. "They? You mean the entire crew of the Enterprise?"

Kosinski nodded. "Theoretically, the shape of the bubble makes it possible for the one in the center of its creation to remain outside its field. Like being safe in the eye of a storm."

Wesley heard the security guard behind him chuckle. "Nice clean way to get rid of your enemies. Very effective, too!"

But Kosinski continued as if he hadn't heard the comment. And perhaps he hadn't. "But the energy you saw rippling out may easily have penetrated the walls and thus continued to include the entire ship, making it look for _you_ – as the only one not affected – as if the people around you disappeared out of existence. Into another dimension, yes."

"So how do we get them back?" Wesley urged.

Kosinski had a defeated shrug. "I don't know, lad. I'm sorry. It's never been done before."

Wesley let out a quiet gasp. "But surely you must have _some_ theory!"

"Well, I don't. You could of course keep fiddling with the equations, and pray for the miracle of accidentally opening up some sort of gateway between their dimension and our reality. But that's a lengthy trial and error procedure. With no success guaranteed."

Wesley gulped. "And this assistant of yours, this Traveller... The guy who manipulated warp fields with his thoughts, and accidentally sent us to the outer rim of the galaxy. Do you think he could help?"

Kosinski looked rather puzzled, but then he seemed to recall the man. "That's true; the guy who was assisting me when I was working on the Enterprise. Still: won't do you much good. I haven't seen or heard from the fellow in years."

"Thank you, sir. For your help. I'll see what I can do then." Rather deflated, Wesley cut off the transmission. "_Now _do you believe me?" he growled at the shrink and his mate.

They nodded in unison.

"Then let me first send off a message to Tau Alpha C. Before I start 'fiddling with the equations'."

* * *

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_To be continued with: Deanna_


End file.
